


Unintended Visitant (teaser)

by EyesOfCrows



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Injury, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Canon-Typical Violence, Damian Wayne is Robin, Death Rituals, Drugs Mentioned, Mild Language, Misunderstandings, Pilots, cursing, just a tiny bit, teaser
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29292654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EyesOfCrows/pseuds/EyesOfCrows
Summary: This is a teaser/pilot sorta thing for my Batman and Danny Phantom crossover, just to get some responses to know if I should continue!Danny gets summoned into Gotham during a night of patrol by the Cout of Owls. Danny must overcome challenges in order to return to his world while also working with the people of this world.
Comments: 59
Kudos: 213





	Unintended Visitant (teaser)

**Author's Note:**

> So I've had this story idea, but I'm not to sure if I should continue it. I'd just like some reception to know if it's worth trudging on for. It's just a typical crossover and to indulge in Batfam later down the road. Please give me your opinions and I might just end up writing it fully in some months!

Danny hated cults.

First of all, they did insane things to summon ghosts or whatever other-worldly creature they wanted, and it almost always involved blood sacrifices and burning effigies. Secondly, he hated that sometimes they _worked._ Especially when they indirectly summon Danny of all creatures. It was always a pain to escape and also travel back to Amity Park.

The blood sacrifices were the worst to witness. Danny’s summoning, as he gathered, didn’t need any blood spill. If the cultists got everything else right, then not a single drop would ever be needed. It made Danny guilty that people died because of him, but then he remembered the afterlife wasn’t that bad. The thought gave him the tiniest bit of comfort. 

There was really no reason for it at all. Just some Esperanto and Italian chanting, a half-moon light, chalk circle with an hourglass shape in the middle, and burnt sweetgrass, and you got yourself a Phantom. 

He hated how easy it was.

 _Especially_ when he found himself in the same hourglass circle with a bleeding woman right before it. She was bleeding all over herself but she looked very much alive, so already a huge improvement.

The room he was in was old and dusted, and the floor was rich mahogany. There was some furniture around, but they were mostly draped in tarps. The ceiling seemed miles high and windows reached to it from the sides. Paintings were adorning the walls that had frames that looked as if it was made of pure gold. Behind him was a roaring fireplace with two leather chairs facing it. The place looked luxurious, even if it wasn’t well maintained.

There were three people in front of him: a man in a dark suit holding the burnt sweetgrass, a man in a blue vest with a leather-bound book in hand, and a woman in a red dress with a knife pointed at the incision she made to her hand. The strangest thing was that they were these pure-white face masks with thin, black eyehole slits.

It reminded Danny of barn owls.

“Wow, you people look like you came from a Halloween party and decided to play around with a creepy book.” Danny whistled, crossing his arms as well. “More of a teenager thing but who am I to judge?”

“He looks likea _child_ ,” the suited man whispered with a hiss. He was immediately given a glare by his other two partners. What Danny could assume as a glare anyway, masks always made it hard to tell. Part of the reason he never put one of the ridiculous things on.

“His appearance doesn’t matter. The ritual was meant to summon a powerful being, and here he is.” Red Dress whispered back harshly, before turning her full intention to Danny. The inky-black eye holes stared deep into him, not echoing whatever emotion the woman held underneath it.

“Ruler of Realms,” Red Dress curtsied, the other two quickly bowing awkwardly. “We call you to aid our organization. We have faced attacks and our forces have dwindled.”

“Wowee, jumping right into it, are we?” The woman’s statement intrigued Danny, and he floated off the ground to think about it.

The action was startling to the trio, but they hid it well. The ‘Ruler of Realms’ bit wasn’t surprising, three other cults referred to him as the same. He and Sam guessed that whatever being they were trying to summon was circumvented to him because of his small tussle with Pariah Dark, and also his status of boring a hole between dimensions. He tried to ask Clockwork but the man was as cryptic as ever.

The masked people _did_ look like a cult, but they were being attacked by something. And maybe the mask thing was part of the ritual? If they were a cult, they were certainly better than some other cults. No blood sacrifices and all. A split hand was better than a broken body. Whether they were good or bad, he had to learn. 

Danny hummed in contemplation, bringing his palm to his cheek. “What is this ‘organization’ you're talking about? Better not be some deity-praising society.” The last part was muttered, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

The woman spoke with a great amount of pride as she explained. “We are the Court of Owls, your highness. I assure you, we are a group of Gotham City’s finest that maintain the integrity of the city. Our agency has fallen into disaster as the man known as Batman attempted to defeat us. Us elites are scattered in the ruins and are desperate to reform. We call upon your power to assist us so we can rise once more.” 

_Yup_ , _classic cult monologue_ , Danny thought, staring at the window bored. _Big vocabulary? Check. Some big bad they needed to defeat? Check. Using me for power? Fucking check._

“So like overseers?” He had to ask.

“One could refer to us as such, Ruler of Realms.” Was her response. It would’ve been comforting if it hadn't been the fact that overseers weren’t the often kindest batch— _cough_ , Observants, _cough_.

It was dark, probably around midnight. It wouldn’t hurt entertaining these Owl people for an hour or two. See if they’re bad, decimate their place if they are, and then hightail it out of there.

Danny couldn’t recall any guy that went by the name ‘Batman’ or even a city named ‘Gotham’, but the world was big. The mansion—because the room was clearly some sort of manor living room—looked very normal, so that ruled out extremely foreign places. The masked trio spoke without accents, sounding pretty American. Either he was in the US or somewhere in Europe. If he flew at top speed he should be able to get home soon.

He clicked his tongue a few times as the Owls watched in anticipation. “Tell you what, I wanna meet this ‘Batman’ fellow. Figure him out before I try to- _uh-_ defeat him.” It was honestly a ploy to see both sides of the whole situation. The Court of Owls saw Batman as a threat, so might as well find out why.

The blue vested man, who was mostly silent—not because he was jaded or anything, he seemed very nervous and skittish, Danny had noted—gave what could only be described as an uneasy look to his companions. “A-Are you going to-to help us? We can’t let you go if you aren’t... if you aren’t going to. Uh- _your majesty._ ” 

The personalities of the three were very clear. Red Dress was the tough leader, Suit’s the hotshot that looked at everything cynically, and Blue Vest was the newbie that was frightened by most things. It was slightly cookie-cutter, but the dynamic was interesting.

Danny looked down and yes, the summoning circle was present. The general conciseness was that the summoned couldn’t leave until they were let out. That was still partially true, but the seal was especially easy to break when it was _chalk_. Normally, a summoned could not even touch the borders of the circle, but Danny was far from normal. He’d discovered that he could simply dust it away and go on his merry way. 

But he was still going to humor the group. It was much more fun that way. 

Danny mocked a whine, “Why can’t I go? I’ll be on my very best behavior, cross my unbeating heart.”

Suit stepped in, his tone harsh. “As if we’d trust a supernatural _boy_ within our city untethered.”

Danny huffed, “Lil’ rude, coming from the people who want _my_ help.” He wasn’t given a response this time. Just straight-postured stares that gave him the creeps. 

“Fine, you want some deal, right? Some official, verbal statement that binds me to whatever thing you wanna drag me into.” He was met with nods, which only had him sigh. “Then let’s play this non-zero-sum game, shall we?” There were many ways to make agreements vague and filled with holes. It was how he got through many other deals to escape his entrapment. He found it a part of the appeal to twist and trick when he did them, even when the guilt often welled inside him.

He outstretched his arms to his sides, moving it in an arch that collided into a clap above his head. A wispy-white mist followed it. He allowed his eyes to turn green and began the deal.

“In exchange for free-reign over this Gotham of yours, you have my word to help your Court thing however I see fit. But I get to call the shots, the powerful ghost dude. Seem fair, yeah?” He floated a little higher and straightened his posture. His arms crossed—though the white arch stayed in place—and his gaze looking down at them. 

The Owls whispered among themselves, but Danny didn’t bother to listen. Finally, Red Dress walked forward, an air of superiority following her. The mask let know emotions slip through, and neither did her words.

“We agreed that it is in our best interests that we add a condition as well: you will make an appearance every time we request your summoning. Deal?” 

Danny nearly smiled at the sudden confidence. One moment they were stepping around him like glass and then they decided to take a leap. He was mildly impressed.

“Yeah, okay, let’s get this over with.” He said dismissively. “I, Phantom, agree to these conditions and swear on the core of my very being to assist the Court of Owls, lest I ever betray my contract.” He spoke quickly and unenthusiastically. He put out an outstretched hand, that flared slightly green. He lowered himself to some degree so that the woman could reach the said hand.

“I, Acantha Kingson, as a representative of the Court of Owls, agree to the conditions and swear on my body and soul to allow his maj- _Phantom_ to journey Gotham City, lest I ever betray my contract.” And the hand was met. He was secretly glad it was not her other hand, which still had the tiniest trickle of blood that went from her elbow to her fingertips.

Danny has always held the idea that deals were intrinsic to his nature. There was always a power that flew into him when he signed the verbal contract and a compulsion to agree to his contractors. He did his best not to indulge in it, but the idea always pulled at his strings. 

The green light of his hand danced into her’s and, for a brief moment, it blinded everyone in the room. When Danny smoothly let go, the circle had disappeared, replaced with black scorch on the wood. The white arch had disappeared, but it had sealed itself into Red Dress’ skin. The moon-like shape was etched into her palm now, as most deals had. It’d disappear when the deal was done.

Danny howled in laughter as he quickly flew around the room freely. It was another side-effect of deal-making, the sensation of release. It almost felt as if he was stifled for hours and was suddenly given freedom.

“Hey, dudes,” he called from near the window. The Owls were certainly surprised, possibly frightened, from his sudden energy. “I think I’ll check out ‘the Batman’ now. Don’t wait up!”

He flew out the window with such speed and fervor he couldn’t even bother to care. Didn’t even bother to hear whatever the Owls were saying. He began to follow what could be described as city lights. The excitement of a deal pounding at his head and releasing all the right chemicals in his brain. He was sure that was how a high would feel. 

Gotham City was unlike any city he had gone to before. He’d made sure to stay invisible, a choice he had made in a brief moment of clarity, as he traversed the new city. The sky was star-less, but the dark blues and gray clouds covered the sky instead. A tint of orange covered everywhere, like a fire was constantly burning. The building was stretched higher than he’d ever seen personally and was lit with thousands of lights. The city was still roaring with activity, a constant stream of cars and shoutings. It complimented his spike of adrenaline beautifully.

Every light seemed to shine twice as bright and the noise more of a symphony than a cacophony. The sordid tones contrasted with the small, gentle moments the city had. Though his looks were quick, the city gave the impression that those times were rare. It was much different from Amity Park, which only grew dark when an enemy waltzed in. It felt like the enemy had nested itself in every inch of Gotham. In a way, it exhilarated Danny. It was not like Elmerton, the dreary pocket that people stayed away from. Gotham City had a _pull_ to it, both frightening and curious. 

He did not need to rush. His parents were away for a ghost seminar and Jazz was already in college. He had the house to himself for the whole weekend. Sure he didn’t want to spend the entire day in some new place, but it alleviated his stress for a time. 

_Now Batman, Batman. Where would I go if I was a Batman?_ Danny thought. Because he still had some responsibility to deal with the Court of Owls. 

He flew up the tall skyscrapers where gargoyles perched on their edges and far into the broken down factories that littered around. It had been an hour and Danny’s patience was wearing thin. His high now leveled and his hope thoroughly drained.

He’d settled down on a water tower that stood far above most buildings. Just high enough that any onlookers wouldn’t be able to catch a good glimpse of him. Keeping up invisibility was awful and he needed a moment to catch his breath. He laid starfish-style atop the tower, watching the clouds pass by. 

“What does Batman even look like?” Danny muttered. He was imagining a 10-feet humanoid bat creature that loomed over everything like prey, but that seemed too much. His second thought was an assassin with vaguely bat-like gear, which made more sense in his head. 

He should have asked the cult who and what Batman was, but the deal messed with his head. He should just head back and destroy the place. The verbal clause was just ‘to help your Court thing however I see fit’ which was a loophole if he’s ever seen one. A deal ended when both sides reciprocated. He was given a free run on Gotham and now he had to help them. Help their downfall or their uprise was the question.

He missed the stars, the city sky completely devoid of them. It made sense with all the light pollution, but the stars were a pretty sight in Amity Park. There were parts of the town that were in complete darkness, which only let the stars shine brighter. But Gotham had no Ursa Major to gaze at or Lupus to admire. Just clouds and gray.

But then the miracle again! As he watched the sky, a light appeared against the clouds. At first, he had thought it was a spotlight, but then it became clearer. The firm outline of what could only be referred to as a bat. Some sort of bat signal shown brightly in the sky as if it was a calling.

“What the heck!” Danny yelled with a smile, jumping onto his feet in one go. He _knew_ that had to be it. Batman, Bat Signal, it just worked. 

So he did a little dive off the water tower and whispered an “I’m going ghost!” and flew invisibly to find the source of the light.

It took a minute of aimless flying, but he found it. Atop the roof of a police department was a man with a cigar in his mouth. His hair was a light brown with gray hair crawling at the sides. He had a thick pair of glasses and a large trench coat.

Overall, not very bat-like.

He silently went to the top of the roof door, nesting atop the slanted roofing of the small structure. He laid his body invisibly on it and peeked over its edge. He felt as if he needed to make an extra effort to conceal, even with his powers.

“Gordon,” the voice itself was shocking. It was low, superior-sounding. It was unlike how Red Dress had, her’s was weaved in confidence and experience. The one who spoke had something much more, a person who knew they had the constant advantage in every situation. A person who was far above an average man. “What is it?”

Danny peaked over and nearly gasped audibly at the sight. It was no 10 feet monster or hardened assassin, but, somehow, a fusion of the two. A man who had a gaze so dangerous it felt as if Danny would be killed if the man so much as glanced his way. A cape draping his entire being, leaving no way to know if what beneath was truly man. Two points poked from both sides of the man’s mask, faintly resembling a certain animal he was searching for. Though his mind started to twist then into devilish horns.

 _Batman_ his mind thought definitively. 

_Batman’s terrifying_ was his second thought.

_…So that’s what bat-like looks like._

The traffic light by his side relieved him of his fear, even by a little. It was a boy, a little younger than himself. He wore green, yellow, and red with a black coming from his own, small cape. There was a permanent furrow of his brow and a tight-lipped frown. The way the boy glanced from Batman to Gordon gave the impression that he was smug by being in the proximity of Batman. As if it was a privilege to be closer to the large, caped man than Gordon.

The two men conversed, something regarding attacks and the police department. Stoplight would interject at times, correcting the other male and adding his comments. The sight humanized the dark-suited man, giving Danny more confidence to confront him.

And then he fucked up.

It was a small mistake, but Danny gave the smallest exhale of relief when Batman moved his hands out from underneath the cape, revealing a certain human body. There was also a bat symbol splayed along his chest, which only further confirmed that it was Batman.

But the breath was just enough to catch _his_ attention. Batman’s cowl craned to where he was, white lenses meeting his unseen eyes. The action surprised the ghost so much so, he jerked his entire body back. Of course, that was his second mistake.

As he moved back, his body clattered at the metal roofing of the access door. It wasn’t extremely loud, but loud enough that it was heard over the streets that blared far below.

“Jesus, what the hell?” Gordon yelled in shock. 

Danny shrank back a little, not wanting to see the people below him anymore. He was right about how it felt if his eyes ever met the terrifying man’s. Sure he hadn’t actually died, but his soul was hanging by a thread. _Well, more than usual anyway._

And yet he made the third mistake of the night—it was like he was actively trying to top his high score of accidental mistakes in one night, which was currently sixth mistakes if anyone needed to know—which was clinging onto the hope that they wouldn’t investigate the noise. That they’d think the breathing and the bang was just a figment of their shared imagination and continue on their merry way. A hopeless thought, he knew subconsciously.

If he thought about it, it was more of his _fourth_ mistake. The deal situation with the Court of Owls was rushed and careless. He shouldn’t have agreed to anything. He should have rubbed the chalk away and escaped instead of humoring the cult with dangerous enemies. Thus another mistake.

Alas, his hopeless mistake led to its clear penance. 

A black shadow high in the air and landing near him. It was as if Batman flew up and landed exactly where Danny was previously watching them. His breath caught as he desperately tried to make himself smaller and did his best not to move an inch. It was taking every bit of his concentration to keep the invisibility up without even a flicker.

But Batman trained his eyes to Danny’s location. He approached him with calm steps, that only had Danny’s anxiety roar out more. The lenses seemed to shine a glowing green, more electric than ghost.

“Who are you?” The question felt louder than the car horns. It was somewhat gentle yet demanding of an answer.

Danny couldn’t help but squeak, his focus disappearing. The lapse flickered Danny back into the physical plane, his huddled figure becoming a clear sight. His eyes filled with fear— _fear_ , when was the last time he’d experienced that? Uncurled, unbridled fear?—as he met Batman’s once again. There was a slight widening to the larger man’s gaze. The eyes returned white, ceasing whatever it was doing before.

“Father! What is happening up there?” The boy from below called to what Danny could only know as Batman. _He’s a father… a father wouldn’t hurt a kid. He wouldn’t hurt me. I’m a kid_. _They don’t hurt kids._

It gained the attention of Batman, who faced away from Danny. It was liberating not to be under the attentive gaze any longer, but it wouldn’t last long.

Danny knew he had to act now. It was either run or stop being scared. He let go of his panic and stood on his two feet. It drew back the caped man’s attention once more, but Danny forced himself not to crumple up.

He looked at Batman’s mask, trying not to look directly into his eyes. He spoke fast, trying not to choke on his own words.

“Hi, I’m Phantom. I think I’m supposed to kill you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you thought of it!


End file.
